​Labs are funny beasts. Their success relies almost entirely on the people within them and their relationships to one another. And those people are busy. A lab retreat gives us the excuse to run out into the wild and reflect on who we are, what we want, and how we can work together to move towards reaching our goals. They also allow us to sit back and have a laugh.

​Academic research is a competitive and sometimes stressful world that is filled with many mundane tasks (rewriting an article for the tenth time, grant applications, keeping on top of the constant onslaught of work emails). In this world, we need time to reflect and allow space for new insights to blossom. Our discussions on future goals and values was very valuable in not just getting to know each other, but also in helping each other along the way, and in thinking about new ideas and pathways for success.

Visions for the future: where we see ourselves in five years (Jennifer Magel)

​Clarifying the ground rules around ‘how to care for your supervisor’ and how to ask for feedback also saves a lot of time and energy in the long run. I enjoyed hearing Julia’s goals and visions for the lab and our projects - it is motivating to be reminded why we are here and what we are working towards on a grander scale.

I felt the session on mental health in academia was particularly beneficial. To know that highly successful Profs have dealt with and overcome mental health obstacles is both inspirational and reassuring especially in case any of us were to find ourselves in a similar situation. It can take a lot of courage to share personal stories, but talking about this topic is crucial in the long run if we are to change the stigma surrounding these issues. I think it is important that all scientists become aware of how common mental health problems are, and how there should be no shame or guilt in suffering from these issues.

​Overall, I thought the lab retreat was a blinding success. The ratio of fun:seriousness was on point and it seems to me we all came back with a refreshed perspective and recharged motivation (facilitated by lab P90s* of course!).

Long may the annual retreat live,

Laura

*A P90 is not a physical workout but a mental one. It stands for POWER 90 (the power bit must be shouted in an Austrian accent). It simply means that you work without email or distraction in hard-core 90 minute sessions. It’s how I get my actual work done. Lots of great details and background here.

Floating above a tropical coral reef, thousands of miles away from any cities or major commercialization…sounds pretty idyllic, doesn’t it? It certainly sounds easier than what I am used to: cold water diving in British Columbia, where I need tons of layers and a drysuit to prevent hypothermia, and then 40 lbs of lead to allow me to actually sink while wearing all of those heat-trapping layers. Warm water diving and that idyllic isolation, however, does not come without their own challenges.

In a few weeks, I will be traveling to Kiritimati Atoll in the Republic of Kiritibati. I will be responsible for all of the researchers’ safety as we SCUBA dive for three weeks, collecting samples and conducting surveys of the coral (click here for more info about our research!). How can I ensure we’re safe?​We use a compressor to fill our SCUBA tanks, but it is not in a dive shop like you’d find in a North American city. Unlike at a dive shop, there is no one who is testing the compressor’s air quality to ensure that it is safe to breathe. As you dive deeper below the surface, the relative amount of each component of the air mixture increases, meaning that potential negative effects of any contaminants like carbon monoxide are also increased. What seems fine when you are breathing it at the surface can be life-threatening underwater. Because of this, I will test the air quality of the compressor and every SCUBA tank that I fill from it to ensure that it is safe…making for a totally reasonable and not ridiculous start time of 5:45. In the morning.

What happens if you break a fin strap or have a leaky o-ring? These small breaks can bring dives to a halt. In a city, you could just go to a dive shop and buy a new one. On Kiritimati, we don’t have that option. We will take replacements for every little part of every little piece of equipment and must be able to fix problems ourselves.

Now this tropical diving thing doesn’t seem any simpler than my usual cold water dive trips.

Most importantly, there is no hospital or hyperbaric chamber to use in the event of a diving medical emergency on Kiritimati. The nearest one of each is a mere 2,162 km away by sea and there is only a flight there once a week. No sweat, we’re prepared. Every team member is an experienced diver and scientist. We always practice safe dive procedures and stay within the limits of our dive tables. All of us are highly trained in dive accident management and we have a supply of emergency oxygen on the island. In the extremely unlikely event that a diver would need to be evacuated to a hospital or chamber, we can have a rescue plane heading our way with one phone call. Because we cross the international date line to get to Kiritimati, help would technically arrive 18-19 hours before it was called. Neat!

All of these precautions, planning, and equipment mean that we can carry out our study in the safest possible way. As for me, I’m excited to ditch the 40 lbs of lead, get underwater, and start collecting data!

Are you keen to find out more about our project or help us get there? Check out our Indiegogo campaign.

“We depend heavily on fish, so I’m really not sure what we would do [if fishery resources declined]. The supply from the store is so expensive”, a resident of Kiritimati island told me in 2013, when I asked him what he would do if, in the future, he wasn’t able to catch as many fish as he does today. Kiritimati, an island of the Republic of Kiribati, is the largest atoll in the world by land area, lying just over 200km north of the equator. Over 5,500 people live on Kiritimati (according to the 2010 census), relying on subsistence fishing to support much of their livelihoods. The people of Kiribati (the I-Kiribati) have among the highest seafood consumption per capita in the world. The future of this island community is therefore inextricably linked to that of the coral reef ecosystem that surrounds it. This atoll is the site of our research expedition this March.

A satellite photo of Kiritimati.

This trip to Kiritimati will be my third time returning to this island in the middle of the Pacific ocean. As an undergraduate student, I assisted on two previous research expeditions, first as shore support for the dive team in 2012, and then returning as a member of the dive team in 2013. This year we will be diving on the reef around Kiritimati to examine the effects of El Niño temperature changes on the corals (See Danielle’s blogpost on corals!), and I am preparing myself to see dramatic changes to the reef. This year’s El Niño is the strongest on record, and reports from the island tell of widespread coral bleaching due to increased sea temperatures.

Surveying corals on Kiritimati in 2013. Soaring sea temperatures during this year’s El Niño mean that these beautiful corals will likely look very different from what I remember.

While we prepare to survey the reef to understand the impact of this climate event on the coral colonies, I also wonder about the community and people on this isolated atoll who rely on the resources that are produced and supported by the reef, of which coral is the foundation. How will these changes impact their livelihoods and food security, and will they be able to adapt to the changes?

Conducting household surveys with residents of Kiritimati in 2013 to gain understanding of reliance on fishing among this island community.

On our trip in 2013, we conducted surveys of the residents of the atoll, visiting over one hundred households to gain an understanding of peoples’ fishing activity, their dependence on reef fishery resources, and their perceptions of changes in these resources. High dependence on local fishery was evident in peoples responses; fish was a key part of the daily diet in all the households we surveyed, and 95% of respondents were actively engaged in fishing activities every week, fishing primarily for subsistence purposes. Over a third of our respondents also relied on fishing as a primary source or as one of multiple sources of income. This dependence on fishing highlights vulnerability to changes in their natural resources.

Our paper on the results of these surveys was recently published. Read it here, or watch this audio slideshow I put together summarizing our findings.

Our trip to Kiritimati this March will increase our understanding of the impacts of temperature changes to corals and the reef ecosystems they support. This information may help to make predictions on how reef-dependent communities such as Kiritimati will be affected by these changes.

​Since I started diving 14 years ago, coral reefs have fascinated me. I am a third year PhD student in the Baum Lab at the University of Victoria. What started as diving for fun with my family turned into a career, and now, for my dissertation, I am studying deviant corals – those corals that can beat the heat and survive in ocean conditions that are less than ideal.

Some people imagine corals as colorful rocks, sitting on the bottom of the ocean. Corals actually do build a limestone skeleton as they grow – but corals are much more than this.​So, if corals can grow… does that mean they are animals? Yes! Corals are Cnidarians and are closely related to jellyfish. But corals are even more than that…

Close-up of an Acropora coral colony. You can see the coral animal sticking out from the skeleton if you look really closely. (Kristina Tietjen)

Corals are miniature ecosystems. The coral animal partners with tiny plants (single-celled algae) that live inside the coral’s tissues. These tiny plants act like solar panels. They absorb light from the sun and photosynthesize (just like your house plants), and in return for a safe place to live they feed their coral host. Corals also host a myriad of other microbes, which help the coral live and grow. These other microbes work similarly to the human gut bacteria that help you digest the food you eat. Some combinations of corals, algae, and microbes are deviant combinations – they grow faster and survive better.

Close up of another Acropora coral colony on Kiritimati Island. (Kristina Tietjen)

What happens to these miniature ecosystems when El Niño turns up the heat? A water temperature increase of just a few degrees can be devastating to coral reefs. When a large environmental disturbance like El Niño occurs, the coral ecosystem can start to break down because for many corals the water is simply too hot to survive. Algae and good microbes get kicked out of the coral, and the coral suffers (see NOAA's website for more info). ‘Bad’ microbes can enter into the ecosystem and wreak havoc on the coral. However, there are some deviant corals – miniature coral ecosystems that have the ideal combination of animal, algae, and microbes. These deviant corals can survive, and even thrive when water temperatures are too hot for most other corals to handle.

Deviant coral? Healthy coral on the right, and for contrast, an unhealthy bleached coral on the left. ​Photo taken on Kiritimati during the El Niño bleaching event (Baum Lab, July 2015)

The focus of my PhD is to better understand these deviant corals. Why do some corals survive, while others perish in the heat? By returning to Kiritimati Island in March (help support our research here!), our team will be looking for the survivors – those corals who beat the odds. I’m not sure what we’ll find on this expedition, but I am excited for the opportunity to return and check up on our deviant corals. After we finish up with our diving field expedition to Kiritimati, we’ll use advanced genetic sequencing techniques to figure out what makes deviant corals special. If we can learn what makes these corals unique, we can better understand how to conserve these fascinating ecosystems.